Erase
by BlueDiamondStar
Summary: Oh what can happen at one bad day, at fairly usual crime scene and just going after a suspect? A lot..  One-shot. Looks like my original idea fled me before I even noticed. Kinda started with usual drama but ended up with slight RaiN..


"Go to hell!"

He woke up with a start. It was third time this week and this nightmare was bugging him for the past month. Not that he's never been there before.

Sighing he rubbed his face and looked at the clock.

"3:15 am"

And it was just very damn early in the morning.

"Great, just great, Wolfe." he mumbled, rolling out of the bed.  
>No use of trying to get back to sleep. He knew it too well that sleep won't come even if he wanted.<p>

He stared at the bottle of pills on his nightstand. But he couldn't take them. Then he will be late for work. And that Ryan didn't want. H would kill him for that.

Maybe if it wasn't for him to be late countless times this month.  
>But now he had to spend these few hours before getting to work.<p>

Unwillingly he laid back on his bed and kept gazing at ceiling.

Suddenly a loud shrill spooked him to no end. Shaking his head he slowly opened his eyes and found himself on the floor, tangled up in his blanket.

Had he fallen asleep?

_I shouldn't have called so late last night_  
><em>All insecure, out of my mind<em>  
><em>I shouldn't have left that message on your phone<em>  
><em>I shouldn't have said the things I said<em>

The ringing of his phone fast brought him back to reality.  
>He picked it up... H...<p>

With a gulp he pushed the green button and answered.

Couple minutes later he was already downstairs.

"Great, Wolfe. Just great." he swore at himself. Another time to add his account.  
>But all he wanted was to finally get some sleep, without terrifying nightmares.<p>

_Looking for love, we left for dead_  
><em>In a grave without a stone<em>

Only stopping at crime scene he spotted how disheveled he looked. But there was no time to try fix something.  
>Casting one last glance in the mirror he hopped out of his car.<p>

"Hey, Ryan. You ok?" a cheerful voice came from behind.

"Hey. Yeah I'm fine." he faked some cheery tone in his voice.

"But you do look like haven't slept in days." Nat's comment made it stung deeper. He knew he looked worse than he thought. But he won't let it interfere with his work.

"I'm ok, just had late shift and couldn't fall asleep. Seriously. This is just the outside as a result of not much time." he tried to slip out of the uncomfortable questioning.

"Dear Ryan, have you looked at your watch? It's midday already. And you couldn't have been up more than 45 minutes. It's 25's ride from your place." she proudly pointed the obvious.

"Look, Natalia, I just overslept, that's all." another try to slip out of the situation.

"Yeah, like 20+ time this month? I don't think so, do you?" Dang! Such a luck.

"Look, I don't know what exactly do you wanna hear but this is only my problem. Please just leave it." he knew how poor it sounded but he really wanted her to drop this.

"No, Ryan, I'm not leaving this. But ok, I'll drop it for now. But bear that in your thick mind that you won't get away this easy at lab." she told him with her finger threatingly moving side to side. Of course she won't.

_As soon as you hear my voice_  
><em>Don't hesitate,<em>  
><em>Put your finger on the button...<em>

Luckily for Ryan there wasn't much work at crime scene.  
>The case itself seemed through and through, and nothing really made it much more detailed. Simple robbery-gone-bad with only one DB, mid-age man with gun shot wound in his chest.<br>Fairly straightforward and all the evidence pointed out only one suspect.

For most of day he'd managed to successfully avoid Natalia.  
>Until he had to go for suspect. He got lucky only to sneak off before she was free from lab. But still he dreaded meeting her at place.<p>

When Ryan arrived at the address Nat had called, telling she's only 5 minutes away, so he won't be on his own for too long. Patrol was late as well so he was alone by now.

Casting a glance around the old house he started to doubt if there was anybody inside.

A chill ran down his spine at the sight of an old shack further down the steep slope. It reminded him too much of one fateful day.

_Erase_  
><em>My love<em>  
><em>I bet you can't erase<em>  
><em>My touch<em>  
><em>You're trying to replace<em>  
><em>A figure without a name<em>  
><em>With somebody else's face<em>  
><em>In your head<em>

He shuddered at the memory of dark, dusty place, duct tape and chair, and too much pain.  
>Shaking off the queasy feeling, Ryan stepped onto front porch and knocked at the door. No sound came out but he still knocked again. Suddenly the door propped open with a tiny creak.<p>

Wincing at the sound he draw his gun and carefully walked inside...

The house was a huge mess. Broken chairs and wooden boards cris-crossed around the large room.  
>Thick layer of dust covered the whole place.<p>

He went further on but house was empty. Not even a slightest hint telling that somebody lives here.

Shrugging he walked back to front door when something hard collided with his head sending him into darkness...

_Everything's cool_  
><em>The rent is paid<em>  
><em>The house is clean<em>  
><em>Your bed is made<em>  
><em>But it's a ghost town in your mind<em>

Pain.  
>Darkness.<br>A small voice at the back of his head kept screaming at him.  
>But he knew it anyways. He was in trouble. Again.<p>

"Great, Wolfe, from all the people it's you again." he kicked himself mentally.

Mr. Troublemaker was back again. And this time he had no idea what the hell had happened.  
>All he knew was that the ground was too hard and his back ached badly.<p>

"How long I was out?" he wondered.

And his head was about to explode into million tiny pieces.  
>But the darkness frightened him the most. It brought back all the worst memories.<br>The Russians. Torture. Billy.

_When the pain won't go away_  
><em>You might as well put your finger on the trigger...<em>

With a loud groan Ryan opened his eyes and pushed himself upright position.  
>Sharp pain shot through his torso. He almost passed out from the pain.<p>

But somehow he managed to stay awake.  
>For his surprise he found his phone exactly where it was. In his pocket.<p>

He fished it out and found several missed calls from Natalia and Frank. Even H.

His heart skipped a beat. They were looking for him.

Unsure of how much time he had Ryan sent a text to Natalia, telling her what happened and where he might've been hidden. According to his watch he's been out only for 30-40 minutes, so he couldn't be far. And as far as he could tell, by the weak lighting his phone's flashlight mustered, he was in some enclosed room with no windows and steep flight of stairs. Basement, he guessed by the looks of the overall dusty sense.

And then he realized why he was in such pain. Dust on his clothes, tell-tale sign of being thrown down the stairs. Also the way how he was positioned on the hard floor was enough to tell him the story.

But he had no idea why he was here at all.

Suddenly his phone flowed with life as the incoming call reached it. Natalia.

He decided to risk. "Hey, Nat." Ryan said in a voice he didn't recognize. He sounded like travelled through desert for some days without water.

"Ryan. Are you ok?" her voice full of worry, moments away from breaking.

"I'm fine. Just hurting a bit. I guess somebody threw me down stairs." Ryan admitted, trying to make his voice sounding better.

"Ok. Just hang on. We're locating your phone. Frank got the guy in time. I got delayed on the way and, when couldn't reach you, called Frank, he was block away. So we noticed him trying to fled the scene. Also found a lot of stolen things in the barn. Looks like eventful day." she finished with a smile. He knew there was smile. He could hear it.

"Very eventful. And looks like two weeks vacation." he added, knowing that his ribs were broken and probably he had some concussion.

"Yeah." he heard a noise from above and through his phone. Soon.

"You guys better hurry up. I really don't like this place. Way too dark. And there might be boogeyman hidden somewhere." last attempt of lightening the mood. He succeeded. Nat really laughed at the other side.

"Don't be such a baby, Ryan. You're not 5 anymore." a laugh in her voice made him feel better.

"Oh then maybe just come and save me already." he teased.

And finally the door somewhere above gave in and moments later he found himself tangled in a mess of soft brown hair.

"I gotcha Ry. You're safe." she whispered in his ear soothingly. Of course she knew. Natalia knew that all along. He'd told her about his torture and she felt so bad about it. But now it was all alright. He was safe and sound. "I was so sacred."

"I know, I know. But everything's fine now. I promise." he assured as they held at each other like forever, finally knowing it's ok now.

_Erase_  
><em>My love<em>  
><em>I bet you can't erase<em>  
><em>My touch<em>  
><em>You're trying to replace<em>  
><em>A figure without a name<em>  
><em>With somebody else's face<em>  
><em>In your head...<em>  
><em>Erase<em>

**The End**


End file.
